Flying On The Wings Of Shibuya
by Tysonkaiexperiment
Summary: Co-write with Chronos Mephistopheles; World Ends With You/American McGee's Alice crossover. Alice fails to land the final blow on the Red Queen, she must chase her into a portal and into the land of Shibuya with a new White Rabbit at her side.
1. Prologue

For those who are interested, we will be featuring two secret games concerning this story, please check our livejournals out for more information. Also, any questions, concerns, or suggestions can be asked there, whether you have an account or not, so feel free to stop by! Go visit for some fun! If you become a fan of this story, you may enjoy the prize!

**Tysonkaiexperiment's Comments:**My first official co-write on this site, it'll get interesting! To save posting issues, we'll be featuring this story on different sites either under my name or CM's name, all the links to the story will be found on my profile. We're posting this right before the release of Alice: Madness Returns on Tuesday in hopes we'll get more people interested in the game. I give this warning now, if you read this expecting Disney's version of Alice in Wonderland, then hit the back button. This will feature dark and twisted themes, so be weary you've been warned.

**Chronos Mephistopheles' Comments: **Welcome everyone to mine and Tke's co-authored fic. I'm hoping all of you will become extremely interested in it and offer your opinions on our twist of American McGee's twist, partnered with our WEWY fangirl-ness... or something. This fic will become an epic, because we have riddles, pictures, you name it practically involved. To be able to receive all the extras involved, you need to visit the lj comm. There you will see it all, and be able to ask questions. Not saying you can't ask questions here, but on the lj you might find your answers (or even more questions!). Anyways, if you're still reading this, awesome, if not, even better. Have fun, enjoy, and review dammit. XD**  
><strong>

**Title**—Flying On The Wings Of Shibuya  
><strong>Author<strong>s—Chronos Mephistopheles and Tysonkaiexperiment  
><strong>Fandom<strong>—The World Ends With You/American McGee's Alice  
><strong>Challenge<strong>—Crossover  
><strong>WarningsRating**—M for blood, gore, cussing, and so much more!  
><strong>Summary<strong>—Co-write with Chronos Mephistopheles; World Ends With You/American McGee's Alice crossover. Alice fails to land the final blow on the Red Queen, she must chase her into a portal and into the land of Shibuya with a new White Rabbit at her side.  
><strong>Notes<strong>—Can be found at the bottom of the chapter, please read it all!

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

She was out of magic.

Quickly she spun on her heel and began towards the entrance she originally came from, the doors flew open and Card Guards began shuffling in. Turning, Alice bit her lip and overlooked all her options.

The final attack with the Jabberwocky's Eye Staff had rendered the Red Queen near death, and with no magic Alice had entrusted the final blow with a chuck of her knife. The attack seemed so straightforward, but the Red Queen allowed her body to fly through the air like paper would in the wind—never something the young woman had expected. With a painful cry the Queen disappeared into the dark depths between their fighting stage, the sounds of slithering and slime reaching Alice's ears.

With no other choice, Alice took one last look at the approaching guards before she sat on the end of the stage and threw herself into the pit. Before she could open her mouth to scream she had landed, and a quick look above told her she had unknowingly fell quite a ways. Standing and brushing herself off, Alice focused her gaze in the nearly pitch-black lighting, the only glow seemingly coming from a lantern floating in the air.

The Cheshire Cat's grin appeared, and with a slow blink his entire body became visible, tail wrapped gently around the handle of the lamp. "Your battle has not yet been won, pursue the Red Queen and reach her in time, or else this battle could turn bittersweet."

His tail placed the lamp in Alice's hand and she began a steady pace after the Red Queen, the cat's humming quietly disappearing the further she left.

It was only then she took a moment to turn, eyebrows furrowing as she digested what she had just seen. With a quick raise of the lantern, the light gave a glimpse of a slightly larger area, "Cat?" She hissed, chewing on her lower lip and she tried to understand what she had just seen.

But that couldn't have been possible; she had seen the death of the Cheshire Cat with her own eyes, hadn't she? The blood had been real, and fur from when she gave his head a final stroke was still warm, surely she couldn't have been imaging that?

Shakily she turned back around, deciding to pursue the Queen while thinking of the Cheshire Cat, it would do no good to stand in one place.

Gathering her wits, Alice followed a trail of blood down a hallway, the walls the same pulsing pink as when she first entered the castle. Under her feet came the weird sounds she tried to ignore, not wanting to question what the castle was made of. It seemed like this direction was a last resort, there was nothing here more than an extremely long hallway and a door with a portal at the end. The splatters of blood were larger, leading through the portal, it didn't seem to move nor have any traps related to it. With a quick rush she held her breath and leapt through the door, eyes squeezing shut just for the moment before the breeze hit her face.

A loud screech caused her to jump back; she flew from the street to the sidewalk just in time to dodge what she assumed to be a car. It was nothing like the cars she ever remembered seeing, they were passing by in a near-blur and for a moment she caught her breath. No one even looked in her direction and the clothes and look of the entire place did little to ease her confusion.

Where exactly was she?

Slowly she dropped the lantern at her feet and took several steps towards a street light, grasping onto it to catch her breath for a moment. The pole was cold and she avoided the odd rectangle with a button attached, instead turning to glance around the street.

Not a soul had glanced at her, she opened her mouth to speak but nothing had come out. Taking the second she sighed and allowed her body to slump against the pole before stepping towards someone standing on the side of the road. They were waving to someone in the street, eagerly watching yellow cars zoom past and not taking any notice of Alice stopping just a half-step away from them.

"Excuse me?" She requested, leaning forward with a hand resting at her heart, "I—I'm quite confused and don't know exactly where I am, can you help?"

But the person said nothing except '_finally_' and stuffed their belongings into the backseat of a yellow car that had stopped in front of them. Without giving her a glance he slid into the seat and shut the door, effectively taking off and leaving her to try and see past the smoke.

Blowing strands of hair from her face, she turned around to eye everything. Most of the buildings looked sturdy, sure things in Europe were secure in their own right, but these were superior to anything she could think of. It seemed as if she could get lost easily, even more then she already was, and that fear filled her heart and kept her feet from moving.

Across the street was a young man, a black thing, possibly a hat, smashed over his bright blond hair as he chatted to the girl next to him. Grinning, he raised a fist and scream something out that Alice couldn't understand, but he was drawing enough attention to them that Alice hoped being near them would alert someone to her.

Hesitantly she stepped forward, the blond boy began shaking his arms wildly in the air and several kids around him started doing the same. There was warmth on her chest and her lips began to curl into an amused smile; just by looking at them the on-edge feeling was slowly slipping away. As soon as everyone began walking across the street she followed suit, not daring to touch anything until she knew it was safe to.

"Uhm, hello?" She questioned as she neared the boy, he seemed not to notice though, this time throwing his hands to his face as he groaned. The kids in front of him cheered and began laughing at what seemed to be his loss.

It was then she noticed the young girl next to him, an innocent-looking face framed by bright blond hair and gentle blue eyes. The girl's eyes actually met hers, unlike those of everyone else who looked past her, and the girl smiled. Uncertain what to say, Alice gave a timid smile back, taking a quick glance around to see if there was anyone behind her the girl may be looking at.

But no, the girl tilted her head just in time as the boy next to her yelled out '_Hey, phones!_' and began waving madly at the area away from them. The same direction as the girl pointed her out with head movement.

Alice spun on her heel and eyed the boy that the blond had waved to, he was looking at her for a confused moment before focusing on the blond, but Alice still gave a look of surprise. Suddenly she was being acknowledged and it was quite a shock when most others didn't even see her.

Without pausing from his walk, the redheaded boy waved to them and gave a call of '_later_' and began in another direction. Alice's gaze lingered a moment longer before she turned back to the blond girl, intent on asking where the hell she was. The girl blinked at her before moving her head again, in a much more focused and pushing manner. "What are you trying to—?"

Her head swiveled, hair falling across her forehead and covering her eyes for a quick moment. Brushing them apart, Alice's mouth opened silently in surprise and her eyes widened.

The same redheaded boy from before was still walking away from them, seemingly unfazed or unchanged. Except for the two, long white ears sprouting from a purple object in his hair. Without another word, Alice began to follow, intrigued on how the boy was suddenly able to sprout ears. This was possibly the sign she'd been looking for, the Cheshire Cat had died in front of her and then re-appeared after the battle, why couldn't the White Rabbit have done the same?

"Wait!" She called, but knew her voice was drowned out by the crowd. Angrily she stomped her foot and began marching after him, "You better have tea when I reach you, or else I will be most displeased."

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><p>The only reason this is so short is because we've got two games planned for those who enjoy it, so please visit our livejournal if you're interested in joining the game and following the story! You don't need to have an account, just leave a way to contact you in your comment. We hope you enjoy the story and are inspired to both buy and play the games, or at least the other if you've played one. This is truly an exciting brain child for us, and we hope all of you will join us for the ride!<p>

**Notes**:  
>This will obviously contain spoilers for both The World Ends With You and American McGee's Alice, if you haven't beaten either of these games, this is your warning.<br>**  
><strong>Tke is the one focusing on the American McGee's Alice information, while CM will be focusing on the World Ends With You information. American McGee's Alice is a dark and twisted version of Alice's life after the Wonderland events in the book, The World Ends With You follows the story of a boy named Neku who has seven days to escape a game or face death. It's an amazingly well-mixed idea, and it flows quite nicely, we hope you'll all enjoy it enough to check out both games. Also, Alice: Madness Returns, the direct sequel to the Alice game, will be coming out Tuesday and will feature the first game for download.

Please review!


	2. Chapter 1

Finally, it's out! We're very thankful for those fans across all five websites that we posted this, and we're glad people were excited for the next chapter! You're all amazing!

If you haven't purchased _Alice: Madness Returns_ or _The World Ends With You_, please go do it now! And when you buy _Madness Returns_ you get to download a copy of the original game, so you can see why we enjoyed the series so much! And if you've beaten it feel free to PM Tysonkaiexperiment, she's a major nut who won't shut up about it, haha.

**Disclaimer**: We own nothing except the plot and any future monster and costume designs.

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><p><strong>Flying On The Wings Of Shibuya<strong>  
><strong>Chapter One<strong>

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><p>Neku begrudgingly got off the bus at the West Exit, mentally growling at all the business men and angsty teenagers (trying to ignore how he was usually classified in that category) that blocked his path and began walking towards Udagawa; his most favorite location in Shibuya. Typically he would get there with plenty of time to spare before having to meet up with Joshua in WildKat. Today, however, it didn't seem possible.<p>

He wandered passed Hachiko, smiling slightly at the memories found here, even pausing slightly in step when he faintly heard the familiar sound of "Hey, Phones!". Neku turned to greet Beat, and more than likely Rhyme as well, but stopped when his eyes met that of another girl.

Even through the amount of weaving people he could tell she was focused on him. He could feel himself frown deeply as her eyes ran across his face, studying him. '_What's with her?_' He managed a wave and a "_later_" to Beat and Rhyme before continuing. A glance at his cell phone screen caused his eyes to widen-he was running late.

Joshua was going to laugh at his expense, especially since Neku was _never_ late (that was one thing the Game taught a person), and Mr. H was going to just smirk at him. Neku growled and began to pick up pace.

He slid through the streets, the obnoxious alarm on his mp3 player alerting him of the time. The streets weren't as crowded the closer he got to Towa Records, in fact he went almost an entire block before passing by someone. No one from the UG was around this section of Shibuya, it was odd to have no one patrolling; maybe Josh was giving the Reapers a break?

With that thought he finally reached Cat Street, stumbled into WildKat and caught sight of the smirking Josh sitting there waiting.

"You're late." The corners of Josh's lips were so high up he was amazed it wasn't a full smile yet, which prompted an immediate scowl from the late teen, "Did you seem to forget our meeting time, Neku?"

"No." He lied, determined not to change his story, "It was just crowded today." It was a partial truth, but not enough that that Joshua wouldn't call him out on it.

"Oh," the silveret muttered, genuinely interested in something that Neku had possibly done or said, "Then were you possibly trying to escape that adorable young lady over there?"

Neku whirled, eyes focusing on the same girl he'd seen twice now. He hadn't even realized she managed to follow him; why would she be following him? She was standing just outside the glass door, eyes focused on him and hands behind her back as she awaited his departure. The girl made no move towards the door, Neku wondered if she knew she was allowed to enter. "I don't know her."

"My, my, with how hard she's staring she seems to know _you_, Neku." Josh placed a hand to his chin, humming as he tried to figure out what was going on. "Maybe you should bring her inside?"

Used to Joshua's commands now, Neku could feel his feet leading him to the door; he slid out and stood in front of her before opening his mouth.

"Mr. Rabbit!" She interrupted first, a hand raised to her chest as she tried to form her next words, "I was transported here through a portal while chasing the Red Queen and now I cannot locate her. This world is different, I do not understand and I do not know how to track the Red Queen down. Is there any way you may be able to help me?"

"What?" He called out, eyes wide as he tried to figure out what she'd been talking about. But he could feel Joshua's eyes on his back and instead he held open the door and made room for her, "Let's get inside, I think I need to sit before I try to figure out what the hell you just said."

Neku led her towards a table, gesturing for her to sit before sitting beside her. Joshua sat across from her, taking in her appearance thoughtfully. Mr. H, who'd been watching the entire conversation, had silently brought over a cup of coffee, "It can be on Phone's bill."

For a moment she stared at it before blinking and peering up at him, face like stone and eyes even colder, "I request tea."

The older man frowned, "I don't carry tea, little lady, only coffee."

Her head snapped towards Neku, lips parting as his eyebrows rose, "Let's go somewhere where there's tea."

Joshua waved a hand at the black-haired man, "Sanae the girl requires tea, go fetch it." There was a mild staring contest between the two, Joshua's grin oddly smug when the angel sighed.

"You got it boss." Mr. H left to the back room, searching in his storage room for the small box of tea he placed there what seemed ages ago.

Neku stared after him in shock. "I expected more of a fight for his 'beans'."

"He knows when he's beat." Silently Josh flicked a piece of hair over his shoulder, "Now then young lady, what did you say your name was and what do you need?"

She blinked and stared at him for a moment before sighing, "Alice, my name is Alice Liddell. I chased the Red Queen through a portal that led to here and now I cannot locate her."

"The Red Queen?" Neku questioned, taking a sip of the coffee Mr. H had placed down before watching her.

"Yes." For the brief moment her hair spilled over her shoulder and Neku could see the traces of blood across her once-pure white apron. "We were originally battling to return Wonderland to its natural state, but she missed my final blow and instead disappeared here."

"You're THE Alice of Wonderland?" The Composer asked, eyes now alight with a new-found fuel.

Vaguely Neku's eyebrows furrowed, the words Alice and Wonderland sounded familiar to him, but he could not place it anywhere.

"You know of me?" She questioned, her face scrunching together slightly in thought. "How is this possible?" As she pondered and wondered about the intricacies of this unknown world, Joshua twirled a strand of hair around a finger with a smug grin.

"Please bitch, I know _all_."

Neku rolled his eyes and focused completely on their guest, who looked a bit cross at the crude name. "How did she manage to avoid your final attack? Is there anything in particular with her skills that we need to watch out for? How about any servants that could become nuisances?"

Alice began an explanation of the Jabberwocky's Eye Staff and the Vorpal knife she preferred using if possible; which explained the high amount of blood staining her clothes. It was during these explanations that Mr. H came back with a pot of tea and tea set, which he placed gingerly in front of Alice. Neku followed along carefully, nodding and making mental notes of what to keep an eye out for. Alice always paused between so many sentences before taking a sip of her tea, a habit that despite the fact it ruined the flow of her storytelling, it was certainly a way to calm the air or build suspense.

"And these, card warrior things could just be wandering about Shibuya?" Neku's gaze turned to Joshua, Alice's gaze glancing at something above Neku's head before following his lead.

Joshua took a sip of his own drink, Neku never did see if it was the tea Alice wanted or his own cup of coffee. "I have read reports from the Reapers," he could see Alice wondering about that word but he had no time to really explain, "About odd creatures that aren't quite Noise in the UG, but look similar. However most are easily dispatched with a few Psychs or two." He tapped his chin with the tip of a finger, humming thoughtfully. "I might recommend having an actual physical weapon like Alice's knife, just in case of course." The Composer stood and walked to stand beside Neku's seat; Neku leaning away from him slightly, trying to keep his gaze on the unpredictable teenager. There was no flash of light, no magic tricks or anything. Just from nothingness appeared a handgun which Joshua placed on the table beside Neku's coffee. Neku's eyes widened and he began hyperventilating, Joshua appeared completely clueless of Neku's issue. "I suggest the gun, as it allows you to maintain a safe distance while still causing physical and hopefully mortal harm."

Neku shoved himself away from the table, jarring the coffee and spilling some of Alice's tea. He clenched his eyes shut and shook his head. "I-I can't carry that thing around. Not after what happened."

"You can't wander about unprotected."

"I don't care." Neku darted out of the WildKat, practically slamming the door open and running down Cat Street. Alice quickly stood from her chair, not bothering with giving Joshua or Mr. H a farewell before following the teen.

Mr. H joined Joshua at the abandoned table, eyes taking in the spilled drinks and the mess left behind. "I dunno what we're supposed to do, J."

"It's Neku's job now." Joshua crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "The Rabbit will guide Alice to where she needs to go. It's just too bad about the gun." He walked to the back room, glancing at Mr. H over his shoulder. "You be sure to give that to him when he comes back. I need to find the Red Queen."

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><p>Neku found himself pausing in his running as he reached 104. He gazed up at the building, counting to the fourth floor where undoubtedly Shiki and Eri were working. They had received the job earlier that month and were quite happy with their current positions. He sighed, fiddling with the mp3 player when Alice finally reached his side. "I certainly hope I won't be chasing you about for the duration of my stay, Mr. Rabbit."<p>

"Call me Neku," he murmured, barely loud enough for her to hear, resisting the urge to ask _why_ exactly she called him 'Rabbit'. "And hopefully I won't be running around like a loon if I can help it much longer. Joshua startled me."

"Your owner?"

Neku flushed and scowled, turning narrowed eyes onto the girl. "He's _not_ my owner."

"The boy who told you about me?"

"Yes, him."

Alice nodded. "Why did the gun startle you?"

Neku shivered, but didn't fight the urge to tell her: "He killed me with it."

"And yet you're alive."

He nodded.

"It mustn't have been too bad then." She tugged on his arm, seemingly not even caring about him being dead. "Where to now?"

He motioned to the 104 building, stepping slightly towards it. "I wished to visit my friends, if only to distract myself. But I suppose we can go somewhere else." Neku offered a smile, though it didn't completely meet his eyes. "Are you hungry?"

Alice glanced about, "A little, but not enough to stop my searching for the Red Queen."

Neku nodded, "Not a worry, we'll hit something nearby." He led her towards Sunshine burger, noticing how she seemed to cringe from the smell but was intrigued with whatever was occurring behind the front counter. She watched as the employees cooked the hamburger meat with a partial disgusted look on her face. Supposing she didn't care for the fatty foods, he ordered her a salad before getting himself a double burger. He led her over to a table where the two could watch the goings-on outside. He picked the burger up with one hand, absentmindedly taking a bite out of it as he gazed out the window, searching for anything odd in the UG.

"What is that?" She questioned, eying his burger with something akin to disgust. "And how can you eat it, with your hands even? Rabbits eat vegetables, not meat." Alice held the plastic fork uneasily, not used to the material, but she appeared almost dignified when she took a bite of the salad and ignored the small packet of dressing.

Neku placed the hamburger back on the wrapper, wiping his hands on a napkin. "I'm not a rabbit." He glanced back over at the Sunshine counter, and then at his barely eaten double burger. When he looked at her barely touched salad, she sniffed and took another bite. After finishing the bite, she reached over the table and grabbed at something above Neku's head and tugged. Hard.

"OW!" Neku recoiled away, staring at her in shock, "What the fuck was that?"

She appeared almost smug, picking up her plastic fork to skewer more salad, "I think that was proof enough."

"Proof of what?"

She gestured to the counter again, "You need to eat your vegetables, Mr. Rabbit."

He sighed, getting up from his seat and tossing out the double burger reluctantly. "The name's Neku." When he returned with his own salad and plastic fork, Alice was dabbing her mouth with the paper napkin, and the salad mostly finished. She was patient as he ate his salad, taking in the atmosphere of the new world she had to explore. Neku gathered the garbage and tossed it before standing nearby as Alice stood from her seat.

He raised his hand to his head, trying to feel for whatever it was that Alice tugged on that had caused him so much pain. He didn't feel anything, and probably looked like an idiot reaching for something above his head that maybe no one else could see.

Alice watched him amused. "Would you like assistance?"

He lowered his hands and shook his head. "No thanks." At her look he amended, "No thank you," before wondering why he kept doing as she asked. And then he grinned, knowing the idea that he was listening to her more than Joshua would undoubtedly irritate the Composer. He opened the door for her, and quickly fell into step, leading her towards 104. "We'll visit Shiki and Eri, where we can find you some clothes to help you blend in more."

She grabbed the skirt of her dress. "This isn't normal?"

"Not at all."

She hummed. "It's not a priority." She gazed over the streets carefully, trying to absorb as much of it as possible. Neku found himself trying to explain as much of Shibuya's history as possible, but couldn't quite remember the different historical tidbits that Joshua had imparted onto him during their week of the Game. But what he was able to tell her she seemed to absorb like a sponge, especially the story about Hachiko.

"So he waited for his master, never knowing he was not coming back?"

"That's right."

She gazed at the statue, arms crossed. "Cheshire would never do that." Heaving a sigh, she linked arms with Neku, "Where to now, Mr. Rabbit?" Neku rolled his eyes, replied that it wasn't his name, and dodged her reaching for the something above his head once more.

"Scramble Crossing, from there you can choose which direction." He glanced at his cell phone, ignoring Alice's curious look in order to avoid explaining its purpose at the time. It was still early in the day, and they could take time to explore and possibly find areas the Red Queen has hidden herself. It also would help get Alice used to the Shibuya layout.

Alice's brows furrowed, she gently tugged on Neku's arm, "Mr. Rabbit, could we please press forward on this adventure?"

"We have a bit of time." Neku attempted to ease her worrying, but the look on her face still hadn't changed, "If she entered here then she's in need of adapting just like you, possibly more with being fatally injured. Hopefully she's doing it alone."

"But I do not know if she has traveled to other places like this and has been awaiting this moment, the thought is greatly disturbing." She took a quick glance into the crowd, unknowing exactly what she was looking for.

Snapping his phone shut, he sighed, "Where would you like to go?"

Her mouth opened and snapped shut, fingers against her chin, "I must say, usually I'm being told the way, never chose it myself."

"Well, it's your choice now." Was his response, his eyes set on watching her as she eyed over the shops in the surrounding area.

"What's in that one?" She wondered, tugging on his arm to grab his attention towards it. Her fingers went to curl around his elbow, but they flew back at the warm liquid they'd come in contact with. Whirling, Alice's wide eyes fell upon Neku, the arm she'd been holding now clutching frantically at his chest. The dark fabric was now almost black with the blood seeping through, his legs gave way and she struggled with catching him and keeping her balance. "Mr. Rabbit!"

His weight doubled against her own, she found it easier to lay him down quickly but gently than continue with difficulty over carrying him.

The cackle of laughter reached her ears before she could stand, her Vorpal Blade in her hand as soon as her heels hit the pavement. Defensive position wasn't something she often took, and she was already cursing at herself for allowing to get so sidetracked.

Neku's fingers gripped her ankle; she was so startled she turned to look at him instead of seeking out the source of the attack. "Mr. Rabbit!"

That horrid chuckle was still in her ears as she lowered her weapon to examine Neku, but she hadn't even had a chance to lean down before she realized the position they were now in.

"That boy is injured!"

"What's she doing?"

"She has a knife!"

Alice's mouth parted in confusion, the eyes of everyone surrounding them now adding to the growing horror The Red Queen had placed upon them.

They were visible.

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><p><strong>Notes and Author Comments<strong>

**Tysonkaiexperiment** **comments**: I'm excited that people have taken to this already! It really has been fun to come up with this, and it's going to get harder along the way as we create the designs for some new enemies and possible outfits. Having played Madness Returns so much I'm nearly 100 percent complete with it, I think I'll really be able to create something graphic. Possibly some sketches or something (just don't blame me if they're horrible because I can't draw!). We'll be having a game up on our lj starting soon, you get to find an image in a picture and find some words! They'll get harder as we get into the story more, but we hope it'll be fun and enjoyable for every person who becomes a fan of this story and visits the main lj.

**Chronos Mephistopheles** **comments**: Finally, we've released chapter one, even though chapter two isn't even started yet, lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter and have an idea of how amazing this is going to be. After playing Madness Returns, it's made me even more willing to work on this, and crank out an amazing fic. Unfortunately sometimes it is hard to get myself motivated, so between the laziness that plagues me frequently because of the summer, and Tke's habit of working on icons or wallpapers instead... you can see why it took so long. Within the week we hope to have posted the first round of our game that goes alongside the fic. Please keep an eye out for it and try your chance at playing. Thanks!

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 2

We're sorry for the lateness of this! There's been a ton of issues over the length of time we haven't updated this, many of which we won't go into so we don't bore you with the details. Hopefully those of you still willing to read this will enjoy this and expect more from us soon, we promise we're writing the next one at least ten times faster then this one. _Promise_.

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><p><strong>Flying On The Wings of Shibuya<br>Chapter 2**

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><p>Swiftly spinning around, Alice turned her focus on Neku. The source of the attack seemed to disappear with its own laughter, and she'd been in one too many battles to let herself get dazed and confused. Stopping Neku's bleeding was the source of her concern, not the people muttering and whispering behind them. "How bad is it?" Alice wondered, stashing her knife before trying to pull Neku's vice-like grip from his injury.<p>

"C-can't breathe." He wheezed between gasps of breath, refusing to let her remove his hand. His eyes squeezed shut, absentmindedly trying to control his frantically beating heart.

"Let's get you back." She suggested quickly, wrapping an arm around his waist and unsteadily pulling him up as his arm went around her shoulders. With small steps she began urging him towards the direction of the place they'd gotten tea from earlier, the walk was going to be long and she kept them at a decent pace she hoped wouldn't get complicated later on.

The other's voices grew the further they got from the center of the Scramble Crossing, Alice tried her best to ignore them as they reached the corner of the Shibuya Department Store. Everyone had been clearing a path, avoiding them, but their faces clearly showed they wanted to follow and find out what was going on. Pressing on further, Neku nearly collapsed at her side, Alice lowered her weight to the street as gently as she could, allowing Neku to cough painfully.

At once rapid footsteps closed in on them, a man launched himself just a step away from them and struck a dramatic pose.

"Like a bolt from the blue, it's time for Reaper Review!" He cried; the air around him joyous.

Alice, quite frankly, _stared_.

Neku's bloodied cough interrupted her before anything could be said; she struggled to keep his face up, "Mr. Rabbit!"

"Hey, if it isn't the Conductor!" The man exclaimed cheerfully, placing his hands on his knees and leaning down to get a better glimpse, "What's up, man!"

She wanted to yell at him, to cry at him for having his clothing covering his face so much he couldn't tell the boy was in pain. But she knew, any swift movements would be felt by Neku and she couldn't afford to hurt him.

The man leaned down even further, "Wait… Conductor, you're bleeding! Holy crap you're _bleeding_!" His arms began to flail, Alice was pretty sure she'd only seen those kinds of movements from other patients at the asylum, "MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED! YOU'RE BLEEDING! THE COMPOSER WILL KILL US ALL!"

His screams caused Alice to wince and try and keep Neku from listening to the cries, not completely paying attention to the man's rambling until another man dressed the same approached.

"Dude, what are you doing?" The other man asked, a large brown paper bag tucked to his arm that made crinkling noises as he approached. It was then, having the calm nerves the other seemed to lack, that he noticed the boy tight in the girl's grip, "Is that… the Conductor? You're injured, sir?"

Alice pulled back as gently as she could, "Who are you? What is a Conductor?"

"That boy there, he's our Conductor." Placing the bag in the panicked man's arms, the other leaned down to attempt to help Alice, unfazed as she refused the offer. "We're Reapers, we patrol the UnderGround, and that boy you're holding is in charge of us."

Neku's grip tightened on her shoulder, his eyes sending her a weakly apologetic look when she winced, "It's—it's okay. They'll… help."

Reluctantly she allowed the Reaper to scoop her Rabbit into his arms, the calm man turned to his now-hysterical partner who'd been babbling when they weren't paying attention, "Go ahead and see if the Composer is at WildKat, let them know we're coming." The first Reaper nodded, taking off towards the café. The Reaper carrying her Rabbit began the trek, almost humming to himself to pass the time.

"Can you hurry?" Alice rushed, "He's dying!" She took one of the Rabbit's hands in hers, holding tightly in fear. If she lost another rabbit, she wasn't sure what she'd do in this new world.

* * *

><p>The Composer stood in the center of an abyss, the abyss of Shibuya's inner workings. Here he could spot the instruments and tune in, but not without finding the right pitch or tune to begin. His wings fluttered behind him, and the Composer began to hum. He hummed different tunes, different tones, and even called upon different instruments in his search to find the current life-blood of Shibuya. After finding the right pitch and chord, his wings flared and connected to the invisible musical score, the music and life of Shibuya flowing through him itself.<p>

He listened and followed along, feeling individual feathers twitch and flex, each one acting as a different musical note that Shibuya would pick. The flow and rhythm remained as it did, every time the Composer would check on it. The natural timing and cues were the same, nothing had changed. His wings shifted into another position, and the music seemed to sing with each movement. It took a bit, but he eventually had the position of where the music was the loudest, and even the smallest of instruments screamed its notes at him.

From there, he focused on individual areas of Shibuya, sections in the ward that his Reapers blocked with walls or missions, and traced the edges of the ward. Not feeling anything off-tune, the Composer gradually moved towards the middle, towards AMX, Tipsy Tose Hall, 104 and then finally the Scramble. At the Scramble, his wings locked up, all the instruments hit sharp notes and held them. The Composer's muscles tensed and his hands rose to cover his ears, his body trembling. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong.

The shrill notes silenced, but the tone in Shibuya's music was now warped. The more the Composer made himself listen, the more it began to steady. But his senses were still screaming at him. He took a deep breath, relaxing his muscles and untangled the feathers from the musical score. He needed to speak to someone. Could the pain he felt have been something the Red Queen had done? Or was it something else? The wings folded away, the notes and music went back into their normal inhuman lull and the Composer shifted back into Joshua. His muscles remained sore from the lock up, and there was still a ringing in his ears. He turned to open space, a door formed out of nothing, and he opened it. Stepping through, he found himself inside the back room of the WildKat. There was a commotion in the main room, and Joshua wondered if Sanae finally had that 'rush' of customers he had been bragging about receiving one day. He briefly made sure he still looked presentable, even after the muscle spasms from earlier and entered the café area.

A basic Reaper was flailing about, reporting to Sanae about some Noise activity and someone being injured, the fallen angel nodding and following along with a perfect scowl. Joshua stepped further in and slipped onto the bar, peering at the Reaper in curiosity. "What happened now?"

The Reaper's gaze turned to the Composer and widened in fear. "O-oh… uh…" He glanced at Sanae and then took off out WildKat with a squeak of fear. Joshua peered curiously out after him before shrugging and asking for another cup of tea.

At that moment, the doorway of WildKat was held open by an obviously anxious Alice, a Reaper carrying in Neku with unsteady hands. Joshua opened his mouth to make a comment about Neku having gotten into a mishap with Beat or some nonsense, but he froze. The Composer-turned-teen stared at the bloodied Conductor in the Reapers arms.

Sanae leaped over the bar and moved things around so the Reaper could place Neku on one of the couches. Alice was clinging to one of Neku's hands with all her might, trembling as she stared unblinking, counting his breaths and making sure he remained alive. The Reaper backed away, and Sanae began working on finding the source of the injury. Joshua was immediately interrogating the Reaper, asking for any information the spirit could give him.

The information the Reaper could give him was unsatisfactory, but Joshua managed to stop himself from erasing him in his frustration. Apparently no one but Alice had been with Neku when the injury occurred, and no one had bothered informing or calling upon the Reapers for assistance. The fact Neku and Alice were even found was through sheer luck that the previous Reaper had even noticed and mistaken them for Players.

Joshua sent the Reaper away, making a note to demote the Reaper who dared run away without informing his Composer, and rushed to Neku's side. The injury was a series of cuts, much like claws of some large cat, had slashed Neku across his chest, from just below his ribs towards the opposing hip. Alice remained holding onto Neku's hand, watching the angel work wordlessly. Sanae was using what abilities he could to heal the injury, but from what Joshua could tell, Neku's physical form would have scars.

Knowing that whoever attacked Neku managed to leave a mark of some kind had Joshua seething. As a Composer, anger in general was a dangerous part for their territory, and it would physically affect the ward. Acting quickly, and all in the safety of Shibuya he would claim later, Joshua flipped a table. The checked table cloth slid to the floor, the tiny vase with a plastic flower tumbled to the side and rolled away, the table itself went flying a good seven feet, banging heavily on the tile floor. The chairs that surrounded it were chucked afterward.

Sanae only flinched with the first bang, knowing immediately that he'd have to close the shop down for the week to make repairs to the destruction Joshua was causing. Neku turned towards the commotion, unable to truly follow the movements, but he understood Joshua was the cause of it. His grip of Alice's hand tightened slightly, and she took comfort in it. Alice composed herself, pulling from her Rabbit's side and peered at the radical destruction of tables and chairs occurring. She glanced at the bar, spotting the tea set from before.

"I think we need some tea."

"Tea?" Joshua called from the other side of the room, "We don't need tea!"

Neku flinched at the raised tone, embarrassed that he was the cause of the Composer's loss of temper. "J—Josh…"

"You were right there, weren't you!" He countered, making his way towards Alice just as her hand gripped the tea set, "You were right next to him and yet you are unharmed! You stood idly by while we nearly could've lost him! What would happen to this entire thing if you lost your rabbit!"

"It wasn't my fault!" She snapped back, finally gaining her voice. But he could see it in her eyes, she felt horribly guilty, his words eating at her very being even if they both knew she wasn't to blame and he was letting loose an anger most could not handle. "If I'd have known I would've done something! You think I want to see him hurt?"

"Your mind is already screwed up enough from what you've told us! How twisted is it that you probably enjoy seeing this? It was all in your mind anyway!"

"Not all of it!"

Sanae bit his lip and glanced over, his hand attempted to roll up his sleeves without Neku's blood transferring onto the material, "Boss—."

"First your family, then your mind, what next? My Conductor?"

Alice gapped at him just then; Sanae winced and quietly looked between the two. After having been by his side so long he could see Joshua's sudden telltale sign of guilt, the twitch of his mouth, the hesitant furrowing of his eyebrow.

"We need more tea." She answered as calmly as possible, even with her hand shaking around the set. With a fluid motion she walked past him and towards the door, "I'll return in a few moments time, please look after my Rabbit." Joshua opened his mouth, her answer was quick, tongue sharp without even looking at him, "Please. **_Don't_**. I'll be back."

As soon as she was out the door Sanae sighed, the Composer had yet to move from where he watched the door, "Better think of an apology soon boss."

The silver-haired teen looked towards Neku, who was glaring him down despite his injury. Sighing, the Composer headed towards the door and made his way out the shop, letting the jingle of the bells above play a small melody as the door closed behind him.

* * *

><p>Biting her lip, Alice allowed her hair to fall across her shoulders as she studied the nearby areas.<p>

What was she to say about this situation?

He'd been partially right, even though she knew the man had been taking out his anger upon her. Why had she not been able to sense it before? How did she avoid being attacked and Neku so fatally? She had so many questions and no answers, but it wouldn't do her any good to dwell. This was not her world, she was not playing by her rules or the Queen's, and therefore she knew almost nothing from here and had to rely on them. It would be irresponsible of her to lose her mind in such a position, no matter the situation.

Except…

The moment he said those awful words to her, something gnawed at the back of her mind.

A shadow, silently against the inside wall of her home. She could remember staring at it with wide innocent eyes; she could remember not recognizing it at all. It'd been important, she'd kept trying to drill it in her mind that night, but now she could remember nothing more than a dark spot on the wall.

What could it mean?

After a few moments she huffed and brushed her hair back, deciding to focus on it later. Now her Rabbit needed her help and she could think of nothing without tea. But where could she find it?

Only a few steps away did she look for help, tapping a black-haired girl on the back and calmly asking where she could gain tea from.

The black-haired girl blinked in question, glasses falling partly off her nose in thought as her pink-haired friend leaned over. "Hey! That's such a cute outfit! Did you buy it or make it yourself? Alice in Wonderland, right? There a costume party somewhere nearby? We should totally go! Any chance to dress in cute outfits!"

"Eri!" Her friend mumbled softly, the black toy in her arms gripped tightly as the girl patted her friends shoulder, "Tea, wasn't it? There's a small shop on the next block over I'm sure they have some you'd be able to buy."

"But before that, where did you get that super cute outfit?" The pink-haired girl smiled, nearing Alice and nudging her shoulder to shoulder as if trying to get her attention, "It's so adorable I may want to steal it."

"It's mine." Alice replied calmly, eyebrows furrowing downward as she tried to digest the scene, "I've had it for as long as I can remember."

"To look like Alice in Wonderland all the time would be adorable!" The other cheered, "But don't you ever wear anything else? You can't look like that _all_ the time."

"It's all I have." She pressed again, moving away from the eccentric girl as slowly as possible, "I never planned this trip, so I don't have any other clothes."

"We should go shopping then!" Came the pink-haired girl's outburst, despite her friend trying to quiet her.

"I'm afraid I don't have any pounds…"

The girl laughed, pink hair flying off her shoulders as she moved her head quickly, "Your weight can totally be measured at the stores, that's not a problem!"

Finally, the black-haired girl spoke up louder than her friend, "Eri, pounds are money in some other countries…"

"Oh." Eri finally blinked, pausing to take the situation in, "Then how were you planning on buying tea?"

Alice froze, attempting recall all the events. How _was_ she going to accomplish this?

The quiet one smiled, reaching an arm out while the other cradled her stuffed toy, "I'm Shiki, she's Eri. You look to be troubled, how about I buy you a cup of tea? It'll calm you down."

"You've never had real tea before, then." Alice replied softly but hesitantly allowed Eri to place an arm around her shoulders, "It's like a surge of adrenaline straight to the heart."

Shiki seemed confused at the remark, but Alice waved her off, implying it was nothing. It seemed good enough for Eri, who grinned widely, "Tell you what, I have a massive collection of unused clothes I force Shiki to model in for me. Why don't you try them on for me? Then you can have an outfit or two and we'll have Shiki alter them while I buy you your tea."

"I'm afraid I don't have time for clothes." The Wonderland creator timidly muttered, "I was only supposed to be acquiring tea."

"Nonsense!" Eri cried as she lead the girl away with Shiki following at Alice's other side, "There's always time for clothes!"

* * *

><p>"I've returned…"<p>

Sanae turned to see Alice peeking her head into the doorway, a bag of new tea clutched at her heart and a mysterious white shopping bag held at her side. "Well come on in, Alice. The boss is out right now, it's just Phones and I."

Nodding, she stepped in and surveyed the area, surprised that it was just as spotless as when she'd first arrived. Where had the overthrown table and scattered items gone?

He laughed as if he'd read her mind, taking the large bag of tea from her before heading towards the bar, "Surprised huh? Josh called in a repair team to come fix it; they usually work faster than humans anyways. See what happens if only he put a bit of effort and power into things instead of just forcing others to fix it for him?"

Not quite sure what he meant, she nodded and held the other bag close to her, "Where is Mr. Rabbit?"

"In the back, go ahead and check on him. I'll make your tea." The black-haired man motioned towards the area where she began to make her destination to.

When she spotted him he was groaning and tossing several small round objects onto the table in front of him, she just took a moment to watch him. He noticed her after a glance and waved her over, watching her slow steps as she studied him, "How do you feel?"

"I'm doing fine. I could handle Josh killing me, I can handle this easy." He rolled his eyes, smirking mockingly at his own joke even if she didn't understand it. "Did you get your tea?"

"Yes, that man is making it now." Settling down timidly on the couch, she glanced down at the shiny objects that had rolled across the table, "What were you doing?"

"Practicing my Tin Pin moves," Neku picked up a pin showing the bright red piece with yellow-orange flames to her. She took it and examined it in the light, setting it back into his palm when she had glanced enough. "It's a really popular game here."

"I usually don't play games." She responded, picking the bag up from where she placed it on the floor and into her lap, "Never really had time to with Wonderland going crazy."

He nodded before peering closer, blinking, "What's in the bag?"

"Oh!" Alice opened it, her cheeks rather red suddenly as she stood and set the bag on the couch, "Uhm, well… I met some people, they uh… two girls. One raven-haired girl with a stuffed toy, and a girl with rose-colored hair, they gave me these clothes."

Suddenly he gaped at her, the faces of his friends coming to mind, "Shiki… and Eri?"

The raven-haired girl looked curiously at him, "Oh, so you know them, then? They gave me quite a bundle of them, several dresses!" She pulled out a gothic looking one, the high collar of the blouse and frill of the skirt a white lace while the rest of the dress was a grey-black. The corset and edges were detailed with a long strip of black ribbon with white dots across, like steel with welding done upon it. Laid gently around the hanger of the dress were a pair of black matching long gloves, belts across them and buckles gleaming in the light.

In a flash Neku was on the other side of the room, his back against the cold wall. "No!"

She blinked and lowered the dress from in front of her face, "No?"

"I'm NOT wearing any more of their clothes!"

Alice's head tilted to the side, a deep look of confusion written on her face, "They're all for me…"

"… Oh…"

After a moment he calmed down and slowly removed himself from the wall, "I've been… forced to be their model before."

"It was fun." Was her response, she held the dress to her body and hummed in approval, "I used to dress in gowns with Lizzie all the time, it sort of felt like I was back at home."

"That gown looks nice on you."

Alice paused, whirling to see Joshua standing in the doorway, his face blank but eyes twinkling with an un-described emotion.

Neku glared the other down, as if waiting for his next move, but Joshua merely shook his head, "If you don't mind Nekky, I'll be borrowing our little Wonderland Creator here."

She bit her lip before nodding for a moment, silently meeting Neku's eyes. Her own were telling him not to worry over her, she promised that she would return if anything were to happen. He may not have trusted Josh completely, but he at least trusted her. So he nodded and sighed, watching quietly as she followed him out of the back room.

* * *

><p>"It's true what I said, you know. You did look spectacular in that dress. Eri and Shiki do great designs; Neku does know how to pick his friends, even if they are a bit weird."<p>

"Coming from you, I'm not sure if that can exactly be called a compliment." Alice responded, watching the ash-haired boy swing upon his seat.

Joshua chuckled, "I guess that's how it always is concerning me."

She'd followed him to an area on the corner of an-busy street, a large box rested there; it had been filled inside with sand and colored blocks and toys. He had told her that this playground was for everyone and had led her to a small metal seat connected by two thick chains. As soon as she sat it swung her gently, she had to grip the chains tightly to keep from falling. It had been such a long time for her, locked away in that asylum; she'd even managed to forget what a swing looked like.

"Humans don't change much." Joshua explained, swinging lightly back and forth next to her, "No matter what era, there are things they still enjoy. You may find yourself looking at something that looks new but you know how to use it."

Alice would have crossed her arms if she felt comfortable enough on the swing. "What do you want? Neku's still injured and I'd rather not be too far away." Joshua took a deep breath, as if trying to calm himself down.

He stopped the swing, his eyes glazing over slightly as he spoke. "Listen, I don't apologize. That's just something I don't do. Ask Neku, he'll tell you I won't. But if I was to apologize, now would be the time." A small gust of wind passed by, strong enough to have the two swaying slightly from the motion and silence surrounded the two. Alice was unable to help the small smirk that spread across her lips at the comment, and knew immediately to recognize it for what it was. As the smile spread, Joshua offered her one of his own and went back to swinging.

She shifted on her seat and positioned herself for a small swing, ready to attempt it after so long. At that moment, Neku stumbled around the corner, wearing his ripped shirt, bandages visible beneath the holes. He was stumbling slightly, but it didn't appear as though his wounds were bleeding or causing him any serious pain. Alice felt relief sweep through her; it appeared that guy knew how to heal injuries, which was a comforting revelation.

Neku stopped at the edge of the sandbox, winded slightly. "So here's where you two have been." He shook his head and shot a glare at Joshua. "Thought you were too old for playgrounds, Josh."

"One's only too old for them if they give up on them, dear," Joshua toned, humming. Alice laughed softly and remained seated, crossing her ankles and letting the swing sway all on its own.

The rabbit rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Mr. H said we need to get to work on figuring out this enemy. If they were able to sneak up on me in the UG, that means we have a serious issue. Not to mention we have no idea if it is the Red Queen directly or one of her minions."

The gentle breeze froze, the air around the trio becoming stagnant and dry. Joshua paused and Neku searched for the source. Alice stood from the swing, her hands clenching expectantly, sensing the impending threat. Then came the noise of something grinding, footsteps steadily making their way to the trio. Joshua hopped off the swing just as a dark cloud came flying towards the group at high speeds. It hit the edge of the sandbox farthest from them, splintering the wood and sending the sand airborne. Alice shrieked, sand hitting her all over, Neku grunting in pain as it seemed to hit him specifically in the stomach. Joshua remained calm, his hair barely ruffled and his clothes only slightly displaced from the blast. "I think it found us, dears."

Before them stood a woman, blond hair curling down her small frame. Her wire-thin glasses were as black as her dress suit; her limbs emerged from the cloth with black stripes similar to that of a tiger. Her hands, clawed and stained slightly red from blood, contained a large pepper grinder. At the end appeared to be small wisps of black smoke, Joshua summarized it had been the weapon that caused the explosion.

"Well, well, well," The Composer drawled, his hand slipping into his pocket, "if it isn't Mitsuki Konishi."

"The Iron Maiden?" Neku questioned before finally recognizing the similar clothing and hair, not to mention the animal print the woman had in her noise form. "You've obviously had some work done. What is that, fur? Never took you for a furry."

"I'm here for the girl. Hand her over and no more harm will be done to your dear proxy," The blonde's normally calm mask had shifted into a sneer that had Neku cringing.

He and Alice shared a look, the girl already having her Vorpal Blade in hand as he attempted to debate his weapon. Konishi began turning the crank on the pepper grinder, the noise growing to a hellacious volume. Joshua pulled from his pocket a gun and forced it into Neku's palm. The Conductor froze, turning pale. "Don't argue, you need this," Joshua murmured above the noise, meeting Neku's gaze.

As the pepper shot from the end, Joshua shoved Neku, and subsequently Alice, out of the way before disappearing in the blackened haze. The blast of pepper tore the swing set from the ground and sent it flying in the air behind them. Alice grabbed Neku's free hand, tugging him away from the remains of the sandbox, moving in an irregular pattern as the woman continued to fire.

"You got to keep moving," Alice repremanded, continuing to move as another pepper blast flew past the duo, "she's acting just like the Duchess. We got to get closer without getting hit. I defeated the Duchess with fire, I'm sure she'll fall the same way." She practically dove to the ground, tugging Neku to her side as another pepper shot was aimed at their heads.

Alice and Neku rolled in opposite directions from each other, moving separately in hopes it would affect Konishi's aim. The woman continued to focus on Neku, the one she knew was a threat from previous encounters. Just as the horrid noise rose to deafening heights, Alice chucked her knife. The blade cut clean through Konishi's arm, her scream loud as only the hilt was now visible. The Iron Maiden regained her composure and snarled, blood dripping from the wound, and she turned the blast towards Alice.

The Wonderland Creator once again dropped to the floor, wincing as some of the pepper grazed her face and neck, leaving a vile burning sensation. The sound of a BANG emitted nearby, and Alice turned towards Neku as the tiger woman shrieked in pain. Neku was holding the gun still in shock, but he noticed it truly caused some damage. As Konishi recovered she began to slowly start the crank once again, Neku pulled back the safety off his gun, forgoing the pins dripping out of his ripped pocket.

Alice and Neku began the process of running about once more, Neku occasionally firing at Konishi if given the chance. Most of the shots missed or barely graze the Iron Maiden, but it had been enough to keep her attention on the Conductor rather than the weaponless Alice.

Alice paused as she ran passed the area Neku dropped all the pins, recognizing the bright red pin with the orange flame. While Konishi started firing a new round towards Neku, Alice picked the pin up, wondering if she could somehow use it. Neku had seemed to trust in these small things to attack, maybe she could too?

Then there was a click; the noise had Neku freezing in place from where Alice could see him; she stared at him questioningly. The Iron Maiden cackled, the sound riddled with wheezing from her wounds. "You're out of ammo, you have no more pins, you're _useless_. Now it's my turn."

Alice paused, her mind running through the motion Neku had used when playing his game. She glanced at the pin, mentally telling herself she might as well try, before throwing the small object at Konishi's feet. For a moment, the pin did nothing but clatter to the ground, and Konishi sneered at the girl after a quick glance to the object laying at her feet.

The pin suddenly shifted in the pepper-filled dust, turning into a weapon Alice recognized instantly. The dark-haired girl grinned as the woman burst into flames and cried in horror as she dropped to the ground, the noise of Alice's Jackbomb cranking away innocently.

Neku hustled over to Alice's side, groaning as the adrenaline faded and the pain from the previous injury stung. "That was oddly convenient. How'd you know that would work?"

"I didn't." Alice said, stepping closer to the burning figure. With a quick study she determined the blonde woman was no longer living and reached forward, not afraid of the flames. She withdrew her Vorpal Blade, cleaning the blood off on the edge of her apron before gently putting it away. Done with her task, she turned back to Neku and took in his unsteady stance. Heaving a sigh, she maneuvered Neku to lean on her for support. "Come on, Mr. Rabbit, let's see if we can't get you more ammo for your gun and get your wounds taken care of."

"Isn't your skin burning from the pepper?" Neku questioned as he cringed, limping alongside Alice. He had just barely managed to pocket the gun. "I got grazed by it, and it stings horribly."

"You get used to it. I recommend a bath, honestly, but I don't know if we have time for that." She offered him a grin, still recovering from the adrenaline rush. "Think your owner will let you?"

"Alice!"

The girl snickered and continued to help Neku back towards the WildKat, where she knew Joshua and that man would be waiting.

* * *

><p><strong>Tysonkaiexperiment comments<strong>: I just love having Alice interact with Josh and Neku, they're such bad influences on her, haha. We're not the great at battle scenes, we hope you forgive that, but I think we did a pretty decent job... the next battles will be better planned out than this. The first boss is usually the one that goes the quickest, right?

Eh, anyways, for now I'm on my own. Chronos is still having a complicated time with life. But at least it's clearing up so we can get back to work and finish this for the awesome fans across the sites this is posted.

Thanks to all of you, and please leave us a comment! We love to hear from you all!


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